Lesa Semmler

Member Inuvik Twin Lakes

Minister of Health and Social Services

Lesa Semmler currently serves as the Member representing Inuvik Twin Lakes in the 20th Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly, having been re-elected to the position. Born in Yellowknife, NT, and raised in Inuvik, where she still resides, Ms. Semmler has deep roots in the Northwest Territories. 

A Registered Nurse, Ms. Semmler graduated from the Aurora College Northern Nursing Program in 2000 and earned her Community Health Nurse Certification from the Canadian Nurses Association in 2008. With 15 years of frontline nursing experience at the Inuvik Regional Hospital, she focused on Acute Care, Homecare, and Public Health. Her career also included roles as the Manager of Acute Care Services and eventually the Regional Manager of Acute Care Services under the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority. Notably, she served as the Inuvialuit Health System Navigator at the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, assisting Inuvialuit Beneficiaries in navigating the healthcare system. 

Beyond her healthcare career, Ms. Semmler has actively contributed to education and community service. She served on the Inuvik District Education Authority, assuming the role of Chair from 2015 to 2018, and chaired the Beaufort Delta Education Council. Ms. Semmler participated in various working groups at the territorial and national levels, including the Inuit Tuberculosis Elimination Board and the Inuit Midwifery Revitalization. Her commitment to social justice is evident in her voluntary work as a member of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls National Family Advisory Circle, where she worked to ensure northern voices were heard and represented. Lesa Semmler's life and career reflect her passion for healthcare, education, and advocating for the well-being of her community.

Inuvik Twin Lakes Electoral District

Committees

Lesa Semmler
Inuvik Twin Lakes
Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Email
Email
Phone
(867) 767-9143
Constituency Office

125 Mackenzie Rd
Unit 203
Inuvik NT X0E 0T0
Canada

P.O. Box
3130
Constituency Phone
867-678-2429
Minister
Email
Email
Minister of Health and Social Services

Statements in Debates

Question 629-20(1): Primary Care Reform
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 53)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I did send a letter to the social development committee offering a briefing on primary care reform. And so I'm hoping to be able to have a lot of that discussion and the Member's question to be answered in that briefing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 623-20(1): Harm Reduction Supports
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 53)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, while I can't commit to a review on a specific topic, I can commit to reviewing approaches to specialized health services as part of the larger system sustainability work that's underway. The Department of Health and Social Services and EIA are in partnership with the health sustainability unit, and Members are aware that this work is taking place to establish an inventory of core and insured services, and type of specialized mental health services could be considered as part of this work. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Motion 50-20(1): Compassionate Medical Evacuation Policy, Carried
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 52)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the motion on the floor that asks for non-medical escorts to accompany patients on ground and air ambulance and highway rescue vehicles and also a policy for this, one of the areas is for significant safety reasons, emergency medical transport do not support non-medical escorts to accompany patients. In emergency medical transport, the priority is to provide care to the patient. This is not intended to be insensitive to the family or loved ones; however, it's important for safety reasons. Emergency medical transports are unable to accommodate non-medical...

Member’s Statement 577-20(1): International Women’s Day 2025
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 52)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, March 8th, will be International Women's Day, and I stand before you as an Indigenous woman - a mother, a daughter, a granddaughter, a wife, now as a Member of this Legislative Assembly and, most importantly, a grandmother. I am deeply grateful for those remarkable women who broke the trail before me and many women in this House, those who faced countless challenges and paved the way for our future generations. Their strength and resilience inspire me every day.

This year's theme, Accelerate Action, resonates profoundly with us in the Northwest...

Motion 49-20(1): Appointment of Person to Investigate the Critical Incident of Avery Burke, Wesley Marcellais and Hilary Norwegian, Carried
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 52)

Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by acknowledging the immense grief and pain that these families and communities are experiencing. Losing a loved one is always heartbreaking. And when that loss is sudden and unexpected, the pain can be even deeper. I want to extend my sincere condolences to those affected and recognize their understandable need for answers, accountability, and meaningful change if necessary.

I completely understand the desire to know what happened, why it happened. I completely understand that, the desire to know why it happened and, most importantly, what we as a healthcare system...

Question 606-20(1): Vaccine Hesitancy, Promotion and Access
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 51)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know we have a lot of things going on in our life and -- anybody, you know, and I'll be the first to say I do not like needles, and I would try and make any reason why I don't want to get a needle. But I always make a priority to get my flu shot ever since I was young. You know, but I think the thing is is that the reason why -- and I'm going back to my public health days -- is that vaccines are -- yes, some areas, they may have released public clinics in certain areas. There were public -- you know, we start in the high-risk areas. When we look at releasing flu...

Question 600-20(1): Insurability Exceptions for Cosmetic Medical Procedures
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 51)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At this time, this is not work that we are doing within the department. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 600-20(1): Insurability Exceptions for Cosmetic Medical Procedures
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 51)

Mr. Speaker, I don't want to go into too much detail but I had this -- or there's been -- there's a BF on this with the Member and the answer -- you know, there are surgeries that happen and insured services -- the insured services parts were billed. There are parts of the surgeries that are not considered as insured services and therefore those pieces get billed to the patient. And that stands. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 597-20(1): Healthcare Access Milestones
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 51)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the strategic framework is currently being developed, as I mentioned yesterday. The -- developed to provide clear direction and performance benchmarks for this initiative and will be expected to be completed in 2025. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 596-20(1): Medical Travel Accommodations in Yellowknife
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 51)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I apologize, yes, we live in a small community and we know each other by first names.

Right now it's actually just in the works, and the teams are working on it. And what I'm hoping to have is something to share to all MLAs because dental is not just in our region; it's -- people are travelling from all regions and they will need accommodations. So it will go out to all MLAs. It will go out on my social media, and I encourage MLAs to do that as well. And as the plan comes up, I will share with the MLAs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.